I was able to locate an additional example in the possession of a fellow collector. More recently, I was fortunate in obtaining several others. For some years, I have had one of these microscopes represented in my collection. Links to copies of these lists are provided at the end of this article. Some details about these instruments can be gathered from the information contained in the price lists that were issued over the years. In the pamphlet Leitz Microscopes for 125 Years 3, it is mentioned that during this early period of the Optical Institute under Kellner's and Belthle's leaderships, at least three different models of microscopes were manufactured. For some biographical information about Carl Kellner, link here. By 1865 he was a partner in the firm, and later became the sole proprietor after Belthle's death in 1869. In 1863 Ernst Leitz joined the Institute.
![e leitz wetzlar microscope value e leitz wetzlar microscope value](https://img.carters.com.au/300x300/9d6a9ab7f24f22054557be48c9038eca.jpg)
The Optical Institute survived under the leadership of Friedrich Belthle, an apprentice of Kellner's, who married Kellner's widow shortly after his death. Unfortunately, at only the age of twenty nine, Kellner succumbed to tuberculosis in 1855. While first applied as an eyepiece for telescopes and then later adapted to the microscope, it enables a large flat field of view. 2 Kellner's microscopes met with wide acclaim and were furnished with his noted invention, the orthoscopic eyepiece. 1 Other opticians who at one time worked at the Optical Institute and later founded their own firms include Riechert and Hensoldt. Among the more notable graduates of the Institute was one, Ernst Gundlach, familiar as the designer of the first Bausch & Lomb stands, who was employed during the years 1859-1862.
![e leitz wetzlar microscope value e leitz wetzlar microscope value](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/2e/28/1e/2e281ea0e8679e575a514a30298f9eef--vintage-medical.jpg)
By 1851 he employed twelve workmen and was producing his first microscopes.
![e leitz wetzlar microscope value e leitz wetzlar microscope value](http://earth2geologists.net/Microscopes/photogallery/Glusker_Leitz_pol_scope.jpg)
Kellner founded what was named the Optical Institute in Wetzlar Germany in 1849. Some, however, may not realize that the founder of the firm was not Ernst Leitz I, but Carl Kellner. and many of them probably have several Leitz microscopes represented in their collection. Certainly, most microscope collectors are familiar with the firm E.